Pan transfer conveyor system



United States Patent [72] inventor Gary A.Messerly York, Pennsylvania[2|] Appl. No. 870,924 [22] Filed Sept. 8, 1969 Division of Ser. No.710,480 Mar. 5, 1968, now Patent No. 3,593,095.

[45] Patented Oct. 27, 1970 [73] Assignee By mesne assignments to,

Teledyne, Inc. Los Angeles, California a corporation of Delaware [54]PAN TRANSFER CONVEYOR SYSTEM 3 Claims, 1 1 Drawing Figs.

52 U.S.Cl 198/34 511 1111.01 B65g47/26 so FieldofSearch 198/20, 34,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,486,602 12/1969 ZuercherPrimary ExaminerEdward A. Sroka Attorney-Otto Moeller ABSTRACT: Anintersection conveying system including a main continuously travelingconveyor to which articles are delivered intermittently from a firstpreliminary processing station for conveyance of the articles in spacedrelation to a final processing station and an intersecting articletransfer apparatus including a continuously traveling conveyorintersecting and lying athwart the main conveyor leading from a secondpreliminary processing station having controlled gating means forreleasing articles to the main conveyor into the spaces betweensuccessive articles being conveyed along said main conveyor from thefirst preliminary processing station.

Patntd -O ct. 27, 1970 I Sheet 1 I l I l l l l 'FIG.7

' mvsurokr; GARY A. MESSERLY.

Patented. Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet INVENTOR f 1-. GARY A. MESSERLY PatentedOct.2 7,1970 3,536,181

heet 5 FIG. 3-8 INVENTOR.

GARY A. MESSERLY "Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet 4 of 4 nos E L 6 FIG. 6-0

INVENTOR.

n in n 1 p "n )r I r (r-l.

GARY A. MESSERLYY continuously traveling conveyor of 1 PAN TRANSFERconvsvon SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This is a division ofapplication Ser. No. 710,480, filed March 5, 1968, In automatedcommercial bakeries, in the mass productionfor example of hamburger,frankfurter and other types of buns, the dough pieces are molded andautomatically deposited in pans at what is commonly referred to as amakeup station. Such bun pans are rectangular in shape and the bottomsare provided with a plurality of shallow depressions arranged intransversely and longitudinally spaced rows. The pans are moved throughthe makeup station on a continuously travelingfeeder conveyor, beingarrested thereon by well-known gating means to permit the dough piecesto be deposited in the bun pan depressions and then released. The feederconveyor delivers thenow spaced pans onto a continuously traveling mainconveyor for conveyance to a conventional proofer in which undercontrolled conditions of temperature and humidity the dough pieces areproofed, ready for baking. Such proofers have a capacity for handlingagreater number of pans of dough than can be delivered from one makeupstation, and the present invention relates to a' pan conveyor transferintersection including a continuously traveling conveyor whereby pans ofdough delivered thereto from the feeder conveyor of a second makeupstation are transferrcd onto the continuously traveling main conveyor inthe spaces between the pans being conveyed through the intersection sothat twice as many pans of dough can be delivered by the main conveyorto the proofer per unit of time.

SUMMARY OF THE'INVENTION In a conveying system of the type describedabove, since pans of dough are being continuously moved through theintersection in described spaced relation on the continuously travelingmain conveyor, it is essential that pans of dough be delivered by thepan intersection transfer apparatus onto the main conveyorin thespacesbetween successive-pans passing through the intersection without causingcollision of the pans, and to this end the invention provides means forautomatically arresting pans onthe continuously traveling conveyor ofthe pan intersection transfer apparatus and releasing them at theappropriate time for insertion into the spaces between successivepanspassing through the intersection on the continuously traveling mainconveyor. 7

It is another object to provide a pan intersection transfer apparatussuch as described above, in which the conveyor change deposits the pansonto the main conveyor in the same position in which they are advancedby the pan intersection transfer conveyor, so that they are transverselyconveyed by the main conveyor without change in their orientation.

As previously explained, the pans of dough advanced by the the panintersection transfer apparatus are arrested and released at theappropriate time for insertion in the spaces between successive panspassing through the intersection on the main conveyor. Since the pans onthe main conveyor are traveling continuously, the conveyor of the panintersection transferapparatus operates at a comparatively high rate ofspeed to insure insertion .of a pan without colliding with or beingstruck by an oncoming pan on the main conveyor. Because of the shallowdepressions of the bun pans in which the dough pieces have beendeposited, impact of the pans upon being arrested causes the doughpieces to be dislocated from their positions in the depressions. It istherefore anotherobject of the invention to minimize such dislocation ofthe dough pieces and forthis purpose movable platform means is providedfor raising the bun pans from the rapidly moving conveyor of theintersection transfer apparatus shortly before they arrive at theirarrested position, so that their momentum has been sufficientlydecelerated when reaching their arrested position to minimize suchdislocation of the dough pieces. A related object is to provide meanswhereby raising of the platform is controlled by the pan arrest- Aspreviously pointed out, the conveyor of the pan intersection transferapparatus operates at a comparatively high speed in order to'insureinsertion of pans in the spaces between the pans that are beingcontinuously advanced throughthe intersection by the main conveyor.However, since the pan on the high-speed conveyor is arrested for asubstantial length-of time before being released, the feeder, conveyorfrom the'makeup station can and does operate at a considerably lowerspeed. It'

high speed conveyor is minimized.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafterpointed out or will become apparent from the following description whenread in conjunction with the accompunying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 isa somewhat diagrammatic viewin plan of the pan intersection transfer apparatus for transferring.pans from one processing station to a main conveyor along which pansreceived from another processing station are being continuously advancedin spaced relation through the intersection;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed plan view of the pan intersectiontransfer apparatusof FIG. I; I

FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FlG. 4"is' an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section view taken on line 5-5 of FIG.

FIGS.:6 A, 6B, 6Cand6D are diagrammatic views showing successive stagesin the operation of the pan intersection transfer apparatus; and v FIG.7 is a schematic view of an electrical control system for the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. I, theinvention is more or less diagrammatically illustrated as incorporatedin a conveying system; for delivering pans of ,dough toa proofer. Theconveying system includes a main conveying line 10 for delivering pansof dough in the direction of the arrow to the proofer and a pair ofspaced feeder conveying lines 11 and 12 disposedat right angles to mainconveying line to for delivering pans of dough in the direction of thearrows to main conveying line 10 from conventional makeup stations (notshown) where the dough pieces are formed and placed in the pans. Becauseof the time consumed at the forming and panning station, the pans aredelivered therefrom in substantial-spaced relation and at a rateconsiderably less than the capacity of the proofer. To provide a moreefficient operation and an increased production rate afforded by thecapacity of the proofer, a, plurality of forming and panning stationswith a plurality of feeder conveying lines II and 12 are employed fordelivering pans to the single main conveying line 10.

The conveying system at the corner intersection of the upstream end ofmain conveying line 10 and feeder conveying line 11 includesaright-angle pan transfer unit 13 that may be of any suitablc type, wellknown in the art, for transferring the successively spaced pans from thefeeder conveying line 11 to the main conveyin'gline 10. Downstream fromthe right-angle pan transfer unit 13, at an intermediate intersection ofthe main conveying line 10 and feeder conveying line H, the conveyingsystem includes a novel right-angle pan transfer unit 14 constructed andarranged for controlled delivery of pans from feeder conveying line 12to the main conveying line 10 whereby such pans are inserted into thespaces between the nans that were received from feeder conveying line lland members 23 and mediate spacermembers 25' and 26, and the outletconveyor 3 embodies features of the intermediate transfer unit 14 towhich reference willbe' made inthe course of the following description.7 c v i I The intermediate pan transfer unit 14 includes an inletconveyor 15 at theupstrearn end of feeder conveyingline 12 to whichsuccessive makeup and panning station by'any suitable type of convens.tional conveyor 16 at the downstream end of feeder conveying line 12.The corner pan transfer unit 13 preferably includes a. similar inletconveyor'l7 at the upstream end of feeder coni veying line 11 towhichsuccessive pans of dough aredelivered 1 from another makeup and panningstation byla conventional. conveyor 18 at the downstream end of feederconveying line The intermediate pan transfer unit 14.also includes anouti let conveyor 19 lying athwart the downstream end of the inlet 1conveyor 15 for receiving successive pans of dough therefrom. The cornerpan transfer unit 13 similarly includes an outlet conveyor 20 lyingathwart the downstream end of the inlet conveyor 17 for receivingsuccessive pans of dough therefrom. The outlet conveyors 19 and 20 formsections of the main conveyingline 10, which also includes anysuitable'conventional ,pans of dough are deliveredfromthe rolls 34 andare journaled in a roll mount 78 supported by a bracket 80 secured atits ends to the struts 74 and 76 providing 'a space 82 between the rollmount 78 and the plane of the roll mount 38 for a purpose tov be laterdescribed; The above described means for mounting the chain conveyors 50and 52 are arranged so that. the upperruns thereof are normally disposedina horizontal plane slightly below .the horizontal plane of thesupporting surface of the rolls 34. I f In order to transfer a pan fromthe Tnlet conveyor 15 to the, outlet conveyor 19, a pair. oflongitudinally extending chain lift rails 84 and 86 are disposedrespectively in underlying engage:

' ment with the upper run of respective chains 50and 52 of theinletconveyor '15.;As best shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, thechain type ofconveyor 21 between outlet conveyors l9 and 20 and any suitableconventional type of conveyor 22 leadingfrom outlet conveyor. 19 to theproofer.

vReferring particularly to FIGJ2, the inlet conveyorl5 of the pantransfer unit 14 includes laterally spaced supporting frame 24 connectedby suitable end and inter- 19 of the pan transfer unit 14 includeslaterally spaced supporting frame members 28 and 30 connected bysuitable spacer members, not shown. Fittings 32 secured to the variousmembers are adapted to support the'pan transfer. unit frame 14 a desireddistance above the floor. The outlet conveyor 19 is preferably in theform of a powered roll conveyor including a plurality of transverselyextending longitudinally spaced rolls 34 having reduced end portions 36journaledin longitudinally extending roll mounts 38 andj40 securedrespectively to side frame members 28 and 30.1 Thereduced roll endportions 36 adjacent therollmount 40.

have sprockets keyed thereon around which is trained anendlessdrivechain44nA longitudinally extending holddown angle member46rigidly secured in suitable manner to the [inner side of .the framemember 30' projects1inwai'dly therefrom in overlying; relation to thetop runfof the chain 44 to maintain the} chain 44 in drivingrelationxwith the roll sprockets 42. Suitable drive means 48 supportedby'side frame 6 member 28 operatively connected with the end one of theyrolls 34 drives all the rolls through the endless chain 44 and sprockets42. c g

The inlet conveyor 15 includes a pair of longitudinally ex tendinglaterally spaced endless chain conveyors 50 and 52 trained oversprockets 54 and 56 fixed on a transversely extending shaft '58rotatably mounted in bearings60 and 62 carried by the sideframe members23 and 24of the inlet conlift rail 86 terminates at its ends justshortofthesprockets 56 i and 66 over which the chain'conveyor 52 istrained, it being understood that chain lift rail. 84 is similarlydisposed with respectto sprockets 54 and 64. Means, hereinafterdescribed in detail, is provided for periodically raising the chain liftrails 84 and 8 6 to elevate the top runs of the chains 50 and 52 fromtheir previously described normal position slightly below the plane ofthe pan-suppotting surface of the rollers 34 to a position slightlyahovesuchplanewhereby a pan is advanced by the chains 50 and 52 to aposition above the rollers 34; and for periodically lowering the chainlift rails 84 and 86 to permit return of the upper runs of the chains 50and 52 from their elevated positionto their normal lowered position todeposit the pan on the rollers 34 for conveyance thereby.

To permit the upper runs of the chains 50 and 52 to be raised andlowered, above and below the plane of the rolls 34,

- the lowerlruns thereof are provided with yieldable chain-tensioningmeans. Referringparticularly to FIGS. 3A, 3B, the

. lower run of chain;52 is trained overa sprocket 88 rotatably mountedona transversely extending shaft90 secured at its ends to side framemembers 23 and 24, and also trained under a downwardly and rearwardlyoffset sprocket 92 rotatably supported atone end of a lever 94,:theother end of which lever 94 is rotatably supported'on theishaft 90. Acespring 96 is attached at one end to the free end of the lever 94 and atits other end is attached to a downwardly and forwardly offsetadjustable spring tnsion mounting 98 secured to the intermediate spacermeinber, 26 connecting 'the side frame members 23 and 24 oftheinletconve yor 15. When the upperrun of the chain 52 is elevated uponraisin'gof the chain lift rail 86, it will be seen thatthe sprocket 92is bodilyswingable in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inFIG..3B, about the axis of thesprocket 88 against the tension of spring96 to proveyor 15at' the upstream end thereof; and trained over.

p v sprockets and 66 fixed on a transversely extending vshaft 68rotatably mounted in bearings 70 and-72 supported adjacent' the sideframe 30 of the outletconveyor 19 on struts 74g and 76' extending.betweenside frame members 28 and 30. The chain the rolls 34 are spaceda sufficient distance apart to freely ac- J conveyors arecontinuouslydriven from a motor and .reduction gear unit 77 suitably mounted ontheframe membcn30, the output shaft79 of which isconnected with anextension of shaft 68by gearing 8 1. The rollmount 38 is cut away andthe i side frame member28 is suitably recessed topermit thechainconveyors 50 and 52to pass freely therethroughandicertain of videthenecessary additional length of chain in;the upper run. The weight of thesprocket92 in addition to the tension of spring 96 takes upthe slack inthe upper run of chain 52 upon lowering of the chain lift rail 86, sothat it returns-to its normal lowered position. It is understoodthat asimilar arrangement is provided for the chain 50, there being shown inFIGS. 2 and 4 x a sprocket 100 corresponding to sprocket 88, a sprocket102 corresponding to sprocket 92 and a lever 104 corresponding to lever.l

The means for raising and lowering the chain lift rails 84 and86includes an air cylinder 106 disposed below the chain lift rails 84and 86 midwaytherebetween in the previously referred to space 82. Thecylinder l06is mounted near its lowerend for pivotal movement aboutatransversely extending axis, as best shownat 1 08 in FIG.3A, the pivotalmounting 'being supported ona bracket 110 rigidly fixed to and spanningthe struts 74 and 76. The free end of the cylinder piston stem 112issecured to a liftbar l14pi'ovided at its ends with pins 116 rotatablymounted in lugsl 18 rigidly secured, asbyweIding, to the under side ofthe chainlift rails 84 and 86.

lnlo'rder to restrain forward movement of the chain lift rails 84 and 86and yet permit raising thereof by the air cylinder 106 to elevate thechains 50 and52 slightly above'the level1of the rollers 34, aspreviously described, the rails 84 and 86 near their rearward orupstream ends have rigidly secured thereto depending lugs 1'20 and 1l22,a s bst shown in FIGS. 38 and 5. l

shaft 124 on the projecting ends of which are pivotally 126 and 128. Theother end of links 126 and 128 are pivotally mounted on a transverselyextending shaft 130 rotatably mounted in bearings 132 and 134 offsetrearwardly of and slightly below the mounting of the firstmentioned endof links 126 and 128, the bearings 132 and 134 being supported on achannel member 136 secured at its ends to plates 23 and 24. Near theirforward or downstream ends, each of the rails 84 and 86 has a dependinglug rigidly secured thereto, the lug 138 for the rail 86 being shown inFIG. 3A. Extending through the rail lugs 138 is a transversely extendingshaft 140 on which, inwardly of rail lugs 138, are pivotally mounted oneend of links 142 and 144, see FIGS. 2 and 3A. The other end of links 142and 144 are pivotally mounted on opposite ends of a transverselyextending shaft 146, rotatably mounted in a bearing 148 offsetrearwardly of and slightly below the mounting of the first-mentioned endof links 142 and 144, the bearing 148 being supported on a channelmember 150 secured at its ends to the struts 74 and 76.

Associated with the pan-advancing chain conveyors 50 and 52 is anescapement means 152 for releasing pans to be transferred to the rollerbed outlet conveyor 19 one at a time. The escapement means 152 includesa gate 154 which, when the upper runs of chain conveyors 50 and 52 arein their normal lowered position, is disposed in the path of a pan beingconveyed to intercept the same; and which, when the upper runs of chainconveyors 50 and 52 have been elevated upon raising of the rails 84 and86 by the air cylinder 106 as previously described, is disposed belowsuch path to permit the pan to pass to a position over the roller bedconveyor 19. The gate 154 is pivotally mounted on a transverselyextending shaft 156 supported at its ends in brackets 158 and 160secured to and extending forwardly of the forward end of alongitudinally extending gate support arm 162. The rearward end of thegate support arm 162 is rigidly secured to a transverselyextendingtrunnion 164, as best shown in FIG. 2, the ends of which are rotatablymounted in the rearward ends of the chain lift rails 84 and 86. The gatesupport arm 162 is normally retained in its horizontal position, asshown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, by a pivot support link 166, the lowerbifurcated end of which is pivotally connected at 168, see also FIG. 5,to a bracket 170 rigidly secured to the stationary channel member 136,and the upper bifurcated end of which is pivotally connected at 172 tothe gate support arm 162.

When the chain lift rails 84 and 86 are now raised by the air cylinder106, as p'reviously described, the gate support arm 162 swings aboutpivotal connection 172 as a fulcrum from its normal horizontal position,as shown in FIGS. 3A, 38, 6A and 6B, to its downwardly sloping positionas shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D, raising its rearward end which, as abovedescribed, is pivotally connected with the rearward end of the chainlift rails 84 and 86, and lowering its gate-supporting forward end.Since the pivotal connection 172 or fulcrum is, as shown, considerablycloser to the rearward end of the gate-supporting arm 162 than to theforward end thereof, it is evident that a small upward movement of therearward end of the gate-supporting arm 162 by the chain lift rails 84and 86 effects a considerably greater downward movement of the forwardend of the gate-supporting arm 162, sufficient to lower the gate 154below the conveying surface of the chain conveyors 50 and 52 to therebyrelease a previously restrained pan.

In order to move a released pan into the space between two pans movingalong main conveying line from feeder conveying line 11 without creatingan undesirably large gap between it and the first of the two pans andwithout colliding with the second of the two pans, the inlet conveyormust operate at a high rate of speed, approximately twice the speed ofthe conveyor 16 leading from the makeup and panning station. One aspectof the invention contemplates means for softening the impact of the pansagainst the gate 154. This is particularly important in the handling ofconventional low bun, pans having shallow depressions in which doughpieces have been deposited for making various types of buns, such ashamtending mounted one end of links burger or frankfurter buns, sincetoo abrupt a stop of such pans causes the dough pieces to slide out ofthe pan depressions and become undesirably disoriented.

For this purpose an elongated sheet metal platform 174 is mounted on andin slight spaced relation above the gate arm 162. The platform 174, asbest shown in FIG. 2, is disposed in spaced relation between the chainlift rails 84 and 86 and widthwise extendsbeyond the sides of the gatearm 162. In its longitudinal extent the platform 174 terminates at itsforward or upstream end somewhat short of the gate 154 and at itsrearward or downstream end terminates somewhat short of the pivotallymounted end of the gate arm 162. The platform mounting means,hereinafter described in detail, is such that in the normal horizontalposition of the gate arm 162 and the normal rearwardly pivoted positionof the gate 154, as best shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 6A, the top surfaceof the platform 174 is slightly below the pan-supporting surfaces of thechain conveyors 50 and 52; and such that in the normal horizontalposition of the gate arm 162 and the vertically pivoted position of thegate 154 when engaged by a pan, as shown in FIG. 6B, the platform iselevated relative to the gate arm 162 to bring its top surface above thepan-supporting surfaces of the chain conveyors 50 and 52 to raise thepan from the chain conveyor pan-supporting surfaces.

' The platform mounting means includes a pair of rearward links 176 and178 pivotally mounted at one end on stub shafts 180 and 182 extendinglaterally outward of opposite sides of the gate arm 162 and pivotallymounted at the other end on stub shafts 184 and 186 extending laterallyinward of downturned side flanges 188 and 190 of the platform 174, asbest shown in FIG. 5. A pair of forward links, one of which is shown at192 in FIGS 38 and 4, similar to links 176 and 178 except that they formarms of bell cranks I96 and 198, similarly pivotally connect theplatform 174 with the gate arm 162. This linkage permits the pivotalraising and lowering of the platform 174 relative to the gate arm 162,and such relative movement is controlled by the pivotal movement of thegate 154 through linkage now to be described.

The gate 154 at its pivotal mounting on shaft 156 is provided with apair of depending laterally spaced lever arms 200 and 202, in the lowerends of which is mounted a transversely extending shaft 204 and on whichshaft is rotatably mounted one end of a turnbuckle 206. The opposite endof turnbuckle 206 is rotatably mounted on a transversely extending'shaft208 supported at its ends intermediate the ends of the depending arms210 and 212 of the bell cranks 196 and 198. Attached to the bell crankarms 210 and 212 are rearwardly extending arms 214 and 216 on the freeends of which counter weights 218 and 220 are detachably connected tobias the gate 154 to its previously described rearwardly tilted positionand to retain the platform 174 in its previously described loweredposition. As best shown in FIG. 3B, the arm 216 is provided with aseries of holes 222 for detachably securing the counterweight 220thereon in any one of a number of positions to adjust the biasing force,it being understood that a similar arrangement is provided on the arm214 for adjusting counterweight 218. The mass of the counterweights 218and 220 and their position on the arms 214 and 216 is such as to yieldto the pressure against the gate 154 of a pan being advanced by chainconveyors 50 and 52, so that as the gate 154 is moved from itsrearwardly tilted to its upright position, the platform 174 is moved toits elevated position through the described linkage, thereby raising thepan from the chain conveyors 50 and 52. The platform 174 reaches itspan-elevating position as the gate 154 approaches its upright position,so that further advance of the pan is frictionally braked by slidingengagement of the pan bottom with the platform and is additionallydecelerated in overcoming the biasing force exerted through thedescribed linkage against the gate by the weight of the pan itself andthe counterweights 218 and 220. It is evident that when the gate 154 hasreached its pan-arresting upright position, the forward movement of thepan has been gradually decelerated to an extent minimizing impact andthereby tilted up position, as'shown in FIG. 6A.

minimizingthetendency of thebun or roll dough pieces from a beingdisplaced f rdl yfrom their'proper positions in the pans..- v i l 1 Animportantfeatureof theinventionis the adaptabilityof the apparatus tohandlea variety of pans that because of the materials theyare made of orbecauseoftheirsize vary considerably inIweight. Since the weight ofthepan itself exerts a PRSis also closed a circuit line acd is completedto 84 and 86 by. cylinder 106; thereby lowering the gate l54fas ybiasing force on the gate, as described above, it will be seen that suchbiasing force is automatically increased or decreased depending .on theweight of the particular pan that engages the m The controlmeans foroperating the cylinder 106 to raise and lower the chain lift rails 84and 86' withconsequent loweringand raising of thep gatevl 54, forrelease and insertion of pansat the proper-time into the spaces betweenthe pans being conveyed along; main conveying line from feeder line 11,

will now be described indetail. 7 A proximityt sensor PR5 is disposed .ashort distance upstream of the gate ,154 in position for engagement by apan conveyed by thechain conveyors 50 and not the inlet conveyor:l5.'lhedistance is such asto'provide sufficient time for a thegate 154 to beraisedfrom its lowered position asshown in FIG. 6D to itsraisedposition in the path of the pan as shown in 1 FIG. 6A,when, under.certain conditions which'will become apparent, the gate responds toengagement of the pan with the 1 proximity sensorPRS.; v r V v v Thecontrol means also includes'a photoelectric control device including asource of light 224 and a photoelectric cell 226'disposed at oppositesides of the outlet conveyor 19 of the transfenunit 14 in longitudinallyofiset relation'for directing a light beam 228 diagonally ithereacrossin the pathof the pans conveyed along main conveying line 10 from feederline 11 'lhe light source 224 andphotoelectric cell 226 are located, as

may best be seen by referring to FIG. 1,50 that the light beam 228 willbe broken by the leading edgeof a pantadvancing alongmain conveyor line10 .asubstantial distance ahead of the path-followedbyapan whentransferred from feeder line.

. .12 to :main conveyor line lo and'will remain broken until the 1trailing edge of the panhas just passed the said pathQAs will becomeevident'from the further description of the control system, this insuressuff cient space for insertion of ,a pan from" feeder line 12 withoutcollidingwith a pan advancing along main conveyorline' '10, and permitsinsertion of apanfrom,

feederline 12 to closely-followapanadvancing along main conveyor line10. 3

The controlsystem, referring particularly to the wiring diagram FIG;[includesa'normally open contactCRE of a relay of the previouslydescribed photoelectricreye assembly which is closedflwhen the beam228is uninterrupted; and an electric valve EV whichwhen. energized effectsoperation. of the and energizes electric valve'EVto effect raising ofthe lift rails shownin FlGS.' 6C and 6D and raising thechainIconveyorsSO and 52. Pan B will now be advanced bythe chainconveyors 50 and 52 over therollers 34 of the outlet conveyor 190i thepan transfer unit 14.

Referring to FIG. 7 it will beseen v electric valve EV'was completed,lineali was simultaneously causing the-contact .CRE of the'photoelectric eye assembly relayto open. Thecylinder controllingelectricvalve EV thus remains energized through line fd so 'that thechain conveyors i i 50 and 52 remainsjiri their raisedfpositionand thegate 154 remains in its-lowered position. The off-time'delay TD is arvranged to permifp'ans B, regardless of length; to be advanced to. aposition for depositing them on the roller 34 of the outlet I conveyor19 with their trailing'edges in linear alignment. The n time delay forwhichtheoff-time delay TD is setstarts when the trailing edge of apan Bleaves the proximity sensor PRS,

7 contact openswhereuponline fd tothe cylinder controllingthereby'opening its contact PRS-CZ and deenergize time delay'relay TDR.When the set time elapses, the time delay valve EV: is broken, to effectloweringof the lift rails 84 and 86 by the cylinder 106, and therebylowering the chain conveyors and 52 to deposit pan Blon the rollers andto raise the gate 54 to stop the next B pan. 1 t 1 As previouslystated,the cornertransfer unit l3,may be of any suitable type, well known intheart, for transferring successivelyspaced pans from the feeder conveyingline ll to the main conveying line .10, Preferably it is similar injallrespects to the transfer unit 14, except that the photoelecticeyeassemblyand the contact CRE of the relay controlled by thephotoelectric eye, assembly areomitted. Although l have disclosed, anexemplaryfembodiment. of my invention herein, it will be understood thatvarious ehan'ges modifications and substitutions: may be incorporated insuch embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention.

l'claim: V r t ,1. In a pan-conveying system, the combination-of:laterally space longitudinally extending continuously operating .con-,

# veyor meansfor conducting pans along a path;

cylinder 1061c raise. the lift rails 84 and 86, hence raising chainconveyorsSO and 52 and, lowering the gate 154, all as previouslydescribed;

. Assume, as shown in F [6. 1, the pan A has broken the beam 228 beforepan B engages and closes contact C-l of proximity sensor PRS, then sincecontaetCRE is open, the circuit,

through lines acd to 'the,cylinder controlling electric valve'EV isbroken, and with electric valveEV deenergize'dthe cylinder 106 is in itsdown position,- so that the chain lift rails and:86

arein their down position and the gate; 154 i's'inits rearwardly Whenpan 8 engages gate '154 in moving fror n thepbsition shown in FlG. 6A tothe position shown inFlG. 6B, movement of the gate 154 toits verticalposition raisesthe platform 'r'ela-u I tive to the lift rails 84and86and raises pan B up off theconj tinuously operating chaintconveyors 50and 52 to thereby'soften-the impact cf'the ,pan 'against the gate, aspreviously positiompan A can now be freely advanced by wtheleontinuouslyoperating rollers 54 of the outlet conveyor 19. When the trailing edgeof pan- A has just cleared the beam 228, the

photoelectric eye assembly relay causes its normallyopen contact CRE toclose and since contact C1 of proximity sensor pl described; 'With thechain conveyors 50 and 52 in their-down gate means supported formovement into an elevated position in said path for arrestingapanand formovement into a lowered position out of said path for releasing a b n;means 'pivotally mountingsaid gate on a transverselyextendingaxisforpivotalmovement in said path between a rearwardly tiltedposition and a vertical position; i

meansnorrnally retaining said. gate means in said rearwardly s I Vtilted position; a platform disposed in pan-supporting surface of saidconveyor meansand a lowered position below the levelof saidpan-supporting surface ofsaid conveyor means;and

linkage .means connecting 881d ;gate with said platform operative,upon'movcmentof said gatefrom said resr-' wardly tilted position to saidvertical position by engage; ment therewith ofa pan. to raise saidplatform from said loweredposition to said elevated position to liftsaid pan f from said conveyor means 2. A pan-conveying system in"accordance with claim 1 wherein said pan when raised by said platformforms acounthat when line and to the the spacebetween said conveyormeans rearward of said. gate meansmountedformovea ment between anelevated position above the level of the 1 terweight yieldably resistingmovement of said gate by said pan from said rearwardly tilted positionto said vertical position, to decelerate forward movement of said pan asit approaches its arrested position.

3. In a pan-conveying system, the combination of:

a first continuously operating conveyor having its discharge endadjacent the receiving end of a second continuously operating conveyor;

means for operating said second conveyor at a substantially higher speedthan said first conveyor;

said second conveyor having laterally spaced, longitudinally extendingconveying means for conducting pans along a path;

gate means supported for movement into an elevated position in said pathfor arresting a pan and for movement into a lowered position out of saidpath for releasing a pan;

means pivotally mounting said gate for pivotal movement in said pathbetween a rearwardly tilted position and a vertical position;

a platform disposed in the space between said conveying means rearwardof said gate means mounted for movement between an elevated positionabove the level of the pan-supporting surface of said conveying meansand a lowered position below the level of said pan-supporting surface ofsaid conveying means;

means connecting said gate with said platform operative, upon movementof said gate from said rearwardly tilted position to said verticalposition by engagement therewith of a pan, to raise said platform fromsaid lowered position to said elevated position to lift said pan fromsaid conveyor means to decelerate forward movement of said pan as itapproaches arrested position; and

the length of said second or high speed conveyor between said gate andthe receiving end thereof being such that with a pan arrested thereonagainst said gate, only a minor portion of a succeeding pan on saidfirst or slowspeed conveyor can be accommodated on said second orhigh-speed conveyor, to thereby minimize impact of a succeeding pan witha preceding pan arrested against a said gate.

